A Cautious Entertainment

Since returning to their house on Unter den Linden, each of the Staatsoper’s new Verdi productions have been highlights of their respective seasons, often transcending the demand for reliable entertainment that one expects from such oft-performed works. If last year’s Macbeth, directed by Harry Kupfer, seemed a trifle mannered next to Mario Martone’s wonderful Falstaff – easily one of the finest new productions on any Berlin stage in the past five years – both benefitted from exceptional casting and remarkable orchestral playing. To that growing list we may cautiously add Rigoletto, the Staatsoper’s final new offering of the season. While Bartlett Sher’s visually attractive staging took a conservative approach to the story, strong performances from Christopher Maltman and Nadine Sierra, and elegant musical direction from Andrés…